18. The Lopsided Casualties of History’s Shortest War
The gunfire ceased at 9:40 AM, by which time the palace and the royal harem next door were aflame, and the sultan’s flag had been cut down. A journalist reported that the sultan had “fled at the first shot with all the leading Arabs, who left their slaves and followers to carry on the fighting“. Others stated that he stuck around for a bit longer. However long he stayed, the sultan was not in the palace by the time the British reached it shortly after the bombardment stopped. Khalid, with dozens of followers, fled to the German consulate, where he sought refuge. By that afternoon, the British had installed their favorite, Hamoud bin Muhammad, as sultan in his place.
The war had lasted roughly thirty eight minutes, during which time the British expended about 500 artillery shells, 4100 machinegun rounds, and 1000 rifle bullets. Casualties were lopsided: around 500 Zanzibari men and women were killed or wounded, while British casualties consisted of a single petty officer, who was injured aboard a warship. The British sought Khalid’s extradition, but the Germans granted him asylum and transported him to German East Africa. He fell into British hands during World War I’s East Africa Campaign, and was exiled to the Seychelles and then Saint Helena. He was eventually released, and returned to East Africa, where he died in 1927.
